Heller’s Japanese Holly (Ilex crenata ‘Helleri’)

Define your garden! When it comes to hedges and broadleaf evergreens, most folks instantly think of the well-known Boxwood. However, few realize the amazingly wide variety available to them! Let Nature Hills introduce you to the Heller’s Japanese Holly (Ilex crenata ‘Helleri’)! A dwarf, dense, multi-branched shrub that has all the benefits of a broad-leaved evergreen hedge plant without any of the detractors that can plague Boxwood in some parts of the country!

Compact, small dark-green leaves, slow-growing dwarf form, and a naturally rounded spreading habit, Heller’s has so many benefits! Slower growing and low maintenance which for you, means less work! This female selection may produce few flowers, however, your early emerging pollinators and advantageous bees will enjoy them. Sparse flowering means few fruits, but the birds will find them. This broadleaf evergreen though is best known for its superior foliage.

Springs yellowish new growth fills in to become dark and shiny green for the remainder of the growing season. Hardy throughout USDA growing zones 5 to 8, these are smaller-sized shrubs that can be sheared, pruned, and trained in any way your imagination has in store for it! When allowed to grow to its natural size, Heller’s can reach 2-4 feet high and spread 3-4 feet wide.

How to Use Heller’s Japanese Holly In The Landscape

Heller’s Japanese Holly is used in front of the garden borders and as a facer plant of taller shrubs and foundation plants, to hide bare stems or ‘legs’. Their tidy form gives clean outlines for your garden plots with a neat green barrier. Providing definition and clean visual lines between lawn and garden bed.

Naturally low-growing and maintenance-free, Heller’s creates verdant blocks of color as mass plantings. Plus, they can be sheared as neatly and cleanly as you need! Small enough for larger planters as a thriller planting, even balconies and patios can enjoy these minimal maintenance shrubs! Manicured urban courtyards or country cottage gardens alike gain definition and lush backdrops with year-round color and interest.

For low formal and informal hedges, Heller’s is a great plant for beefing up the dreary winter landscape! There really aren’t many applications where this hardy landscape plant won’t improve with its presence. The natural arching stems of unpruned plants have a graceful, playful look. Really standing out when used as an accent plant or specimen. Liven up a rock garden or top your rock walls with easy-care evergreens. Heller’s also withstands heavy shearing and pruning and can be used for topiary!

• Broadleaf Evergreen With Yellowish New Growth
• Tiny Greenish-White Blooms
• Small Black Berries on Female Plants – Grown For Foliage
• Dense Dwarf Form – Great Topiary Plant
• Urban Conditions & Pollution Tolerant
• Versatile Containers & Landscape Use

Tips For Care

It’s important that Heller’s Japanese Holly receives regular waterings during the first growing season to establish a deep, extensive root system. Tolerant of both full sun and part shade without losing any coloration. Heller’s is tolerant of pollution, urban and city environments won’t phase this tough plant! Heller’s really performs their best in any well-drained soil but since they are so highly adaptable they even tolerate poor, sandy, and clay soils! This plant performs best in even moisture and acidic soils. The dense mound, full of charming small leaves, this Holly really doesn’t require pruning. However, when pruning is needed, it’s best done in very early spring before you see new growth.

• Full Sun or Part Shade
• Highly Adaptable to Any Well-Drained Soil
• Moderate Moisture Needs
• Versatile Landscape Use
• Shear to Any Size or Shape-Late Winter/Early Spring
• Seldom Damaged By Deer

Evergreen shrubs are the keystone element for most landscape designs! You’ll receive amazing landscape appeal and easy-care evergreen with the addition of Heller’s Japanese Holly!